Former Colombian President Iván Duque is a Distinguished Fellow at the Bezos Earth Fund. While President of Colombia from 2018 to 2022, he spearheaded environmental protection efforts, most notably in the Amazon.
As president, his environmental achievements include the expansion of environmental protection to conserve 34% of Colombian territory, part of the global 30x30 conservation effort; the declaration for the Conservation and Management of Ecosystems included in the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine corridor; the launch of Operation “Artemisa” to combat deforestation and the creation and promotion of the Leticia Pact to protect the Amazon.
Before his presidential election, former president Duque was a senator of the Republic of Colombia from 2014 to 2018. From 2011 to 2013, he served as the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) head of Culture, Creativity, and Solidarity. He was Colombia’s senior advisor to IDB between 2001 and 2010 and served as an advisor at the Colombian Ministry of Finance.